


"How art thou fallen from heaven"

by gimmekensei



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angel Merlin, Angel/Human Relationships, Avalon - Freeform, Fallen Angels, Human Arthur, M/M, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28524540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmekensei/pseuds/gimmekensei
Summary: The first thing Merlin registered was the lack of weight bearing down on his back. It was an agonizing, unfamiliar sensation. His wings were gone, separated for all eternity. Sacrificed for a better cause. A condemning act.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	"How art thou fallen from heaven"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [3levetoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/3levetoi/gifts).



The first thing Merlin registered was the lack of weight bearing down on his back. It was an agonizing, unfamiliar sensation. His wings were gone, separated for all eternity. Sacrificed for a better cause. A condemning act. His wings were a representation of a place in heaven for him, but all had been rejected for another shot at   
  
Left in such a grounded state, all Merlin could do was what many of his fallen kind did in this situation, he wandered. Forced himself to ignore the emptiness he felt oozing through his form, seeping into his depths. The light he’d always exuded since creation had been extinguished. There wasn’t even a remaining ghost of his halo. Merlin had fallen so far that not even a demon would want to taste the bitterness of his torched, immolated vessel of a body.  
  
Somehow even with a lack of wings to carry him, or a halo to breed continuously his holiness possessed by his kind, Merlin’s feet continued to carry him forward. Step after step. Each felt heavier than the last, as if the action of his sin was so great that even the ground felt completed to swallow him whole further down into the core of the Earth.  
  
At least Merlin still possessed that bond. Searching for his human would be a taxing act, but a journey he would gladly take upon himself. Arthur was his king, his alley, his friend, his comrade, his fated one.  
  
There is no hesitation then when his feet continue to take him along, past mountain ranges and through sprawling forests. There wasn’t even a pause in the fallen angel’s step when dangerous territory was crossed. The sun rose and fell. Night reined at times, but Merlin still carried on, dead set on his mission.  
  
It could have been mere hours or a decade later, but Merlin’s feet now started to trail into water. The lake he’d breached held a mysterious depth that would scare away any rational human, but Merlin had been through too much, and was so incredibly close that the wet murkiness had no effect on his path.  
  
If anything, Merlin embraced how the water enveloped him, as if consuming him so he could never free himself again. But that was okay...to be expected really. To fulfill their destiny, this act was key.  
  
“Hello, Arthur.” Merlin’s voice was scratchier from misuse. Some things hadn’t ever changed though. His head was still a mop of hair. 

Absolute delight attacked the angel’s mind, overriding anything else he might be thinking or feeling. This was truly Arthur in the flesh. He looked so well preserved, as pretty as a porcelain doll. A true sleeping beauty. It was as if time hadn’t passed for the King. So lifelike, Merlin wouldn’t be surprised if a, “ _Merlin, you look ridiculous,”_ or a _“Shut up, Merlin,”_ would slip from those delectable lips.   
_  
_But, no. He wouldn’t hear those fond words again, let alone get to savor giving a retort. For this next, final act, there could only be one to arise from Avalon. A King would arise again and in his place a turned mortal would be lost to time.  
  
Peeling Excalibur out of Arthur’s grip, Merlin swam closer and let those forbidden magic words spill from his lips.  
  


* * *

  
“The hell?” Arthur patted his own chest in confusion and quickly looked around to take in his surroundings. Just where was he? Ah, jeez he probably drank too much and wandered too far away from the castle.  
  
...Yeah that was totally what was up.   
  
Shrugging, Arthur headed forth into the woods. He was going to get home and first thing demand Merlin get him the biggest breakfast he could get.  
  
He didn’t catch sight of how the lake’s waters rippled before settling into a calm now that a trade had been made and completed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this wasn't too confusing to read! Think of this as Angel Merlin in a canon setting. Arthur already passed away, and this takes place at the end of the show. Merlin gave up his wings for another chance to save Arthur from death, and by doing that, that meant trading his own life with the lake.


End file.
